


Twisted Up in You

by whitewoofgeralt



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, Post break up fic, Twister AU, WIP, Work In Progress, modern setting au, no powers au, storm chasers AU, wee amount of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-23 05:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitewoofgeralt/pseuds/whitewoofgeralt
Summary: Steve Rogers was ready to move on. He had a job that he was finally settling into, a life that he could be happy with in time, and a budding romance with an intelligent, challenging woman named Peggy Carter. The only thing preventing him from throwing himself head-first into this new beginning – Bucky Barnes. His soon to be ex-husband. Or he would be, if only he’d sign the papers.As Bucky continued to avoid Steve and their looming divorce, Steve found himself with no other option than to confront Bucky face to face. However, none of it goes as planned and Steve quickly found himself sucked back into a life that he had thought he’d left behind for good.So when Steve and Bucky find themselves chasing a string of storms together, Steve will be left to wonder if he’ll actually get what he came here for or if he’ll find himself twisted up in Bucky once again.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Comments: 12
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MajorKoalaTea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajorKoalaTea/gifts).



> Alright folks, the first chapter of my "Twister" AU that absolutely no one asked for. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It's definitely one of my personal favourites. 
> 
> I'd also like to note that this a WIP - meaning that it is not complete and is nowhere near complete. I've fallen off the fic writing wagon and I'm trying to find my footing again. So basically I'm hoping y'all can help fuel me okay? I am going to try updating in a timely manner but bear with me if it takes longer from time to time. 
> 
> There's no set wordcount I have in mind or chapter count, but I am aiming for ten. Ten chapters of these two idiots falling in love (again) mixed in with some heavy against and storm chasing. 
> 
> Oh, on that note.. everything I know about tornadoes and storm chasing I got from Google. Everything else I ran with. *shrug* 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! This idea is like.. my baby and I hope I can do it some justice.
> 
> EDIT: Thanks to Nightfalcon's Reverse Eyeshadow on discord for the beta! <3

Steve Rogers adjusted his tie as he waited for his cue, the smile on his face growing tighter and the knot in his stomach growing larger as the seconds ticked by. He assumed he would be used to this by now – the heat of the lights, the cameras, the people. But the undeniable truth of it was, he wasn’t, and he was beginning to realize that maybe he never would be.

When the green light finally came, Steve turned it all off and launched into the spiel of this week’s weather reports with a practiced ease that belied just how out of place he felt. 

He could see the people on the sidelines, the way they murmured back and forth, their gazes flicking to Steve. He had always been good at putting on a good front, pretending that things were okay; but right now, he could feel the façade beginning to slip and he couldn’t help but wonder if they could see it too.

Steve had taken this job out of desperation; his life had been in shambles and he had been drowning in it. So, when the opportunity had been presented to him, he jumped on it. No questions asked. No hesitation. It hadn’t mattered that he wasn’t keen on being on television, that he wasn’t a suit and tie kind of guy; it had been an out that had presented itself at the best, yet worst, time of his life.

Now, though… now he wished he would have taken things slower. Taken the time to figure things out. Figure out who he was.

Wrapping up, Steve gave the cameras one last smile before they panned over to the news desk across the room. He had barely made it out the studio doors before he was pulling open the collar of his shirt and loosening his tie.

It hadn’t been all bad, he mused. There had been some perks to having a steady gig – health insurance, stability, a great apartment; the list was endless. But mixed in there was the fact that he wasn’t happy. Not exactly.

Behind him, he could hear the familiar sound of heels. He bit back a smile, unable to help the way excitement pooled low in his stomach.

“You’re making quite the impression, Steve.”

“Is that so?” Steve asked, slowing his pace to allow her to catch up. “And what impression is that, Ms. Carter?”

“Let’s just say that you are making all the right people happy.” She fell into step beside Steve, and allowed him to steer her into his office. “Also, how many times am I going to have to ask you to call me Peggy?”

Closing the door behind them, Steve watched as Peggy folded herself into the chair in front of his desk, ankles crossed. “At least once more, Ms. Carter.”

He took his time rounding his desk, unable to keep his gaze off her. She looked magnificent in her fitted pencil skirt and white blouse that hugged in all the right places – crisp, professional and sexy. He allowed himself to linger on her perfectly painted red lips before he schooled his expression into something a little more suitable for the office.

Peggy was his saving grace. The one thing that kept him his feet firmly planted in New York, in this job. As beautiful as she was, she was intimidating, intelligent and she challenged him in ways that he hasn’t experienced in a very long time. In other words, she was refreshing and new and very exciting. When he was in her presence, it was easy to forget the unhappiness that rolled deep in his belly.

“We are behind closed doors now, Steve, let’s not be coy.”

Steve sighed and shifted in his chair, uncomfortable. “You know how I feel about this, Peggy.”

Peggy’s face softened, understanding. “I’m sorry, Steve. I can wait for as long as it takes. I know these things aren’t easy.”

He could hear the _ ‘but’ _ she left unsaid and it made him sigh again, frustrated. He liked Peggy, he did. She was everything that he wasn’t – poised, confident and sure of herself and everything that she stood for. He appreciated that she was willing to put their budding relationship on hold until he figured things out even though he didn’t think that she should have to.

“No,” he agreed, “they aren’t. And it is unfair of me to keep asking you to wait, to put us on the backburner until I get my life straightened out.”

“Have you heard from him at all?”

Steve shook his head and leaned back in his chair, forlorn. “No. I’ve tried calling him, texting…nothing. Complete and total silence.”

Peggy pursed her lips, her displeasure with the situation almost palpable. “I think, darling, the only one being unfair here is  _ him _ .” 

“That may be true, but I’m the one who decided to give up. I sent the divorce papers. He’s entitled to be angry with me.”

“Angry? Steve, please. He’s acting like a petulant child who hasn’t gotten his way.”

“You don’t know him like I do, Peggy. He’s never been very good with people walking out of his life.” Rubbing uncomfortably at the back of his neck, he held Peggy’s eyes. “I’m ready to shut the door on this part of my life, don’t think that I’m not…this is just harder than I thought it would be.”

“Of course it is, darling. Forgive me for being brash. I just don’t like to see you unhappy.” Moving around the desk, she cupped the side of his jaw, tipped his face up to hers. “If you need more time, I mean it when I say that I am willing to give it to you.”

He pulled her down into his lap, let his arms wrap around her as he buried his face into the crock of her neck; allowing himself this moment of weakness to seek comfort in Peggy. He thought he could love her; perhaps he was already on his way. He wondered if he was being foolish by delaying the inevitable.

Breathing in the scent of Peggy, he let his mind quiet; felt his thoughts die down like the winds of a storm.

He knew what he had to do.

“Peggy,” he said, voice muffled against her skin. “If I’m going to do this, I think I have to do it in person. It’s what I should have done in the first place.”

“Are you sure?” Leaning back, Peggy looked him over.

“Yes,” he said and then stronger, surer, “yes.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Steve shook his head. “I think this something I should do alone.”

Peggy touched his cheek softly before standing up, allowing room for Steve to do the same. “When will you go?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

“That soon?”

“I’ve put it off long enough. Maria won’t be happy with me, but it’s time, Peggy.” And maybe, just maybe, when the papers were finally signed, he’d be able to breathe again. Soak up a little bit of that happiness he’d fooled himself into believing he had found.

Pressing a chaste kiss to Peggy’s cheek, Steve headed for Maria’s office.

***

Maria Hill was not happy, a fact that was evident in the way her mouth was pinched in a hard line. She flipped through her papers, the wheels in her mind spinning in a desperate attempt to figure out how she could make this pan out in her favour. Steve was her best weatherman, that much was clear by the ratings and she knew that by him taking this time off, they were likely to drop once again. It would be a hit that her small, up and coming network couldn’t afford. But what she also couldn’t afford was to lose Steve, which could be a very real possibility and that put her in a very uncomfortable position.

While the higher ups she answered to may be blinded by the megawatt smile and baby blues, clearly only seeing what they wanted (the numbers); she, however, was not. She could see that he was teetering on the edge of something she couldn’t quite figure out. But it was plain as day, at least to her, that he was feeling uncertain of his place here. Whether or not that extended to all aspects of his life here in New York, she didn’t know.

Either way, losing Steve was a risk that she didn’t want to take and maybe that bordered along the lines of being selfish, but dammit, she had something to prove here.

Unable to put it off anymore, she sat back in her chair and folded her hands in front of her, hoping to hell she came off as intimidating. And if that failed miserably, then at least he wouldn’t be able to see how they shook.

“How long are we thinking?”

Steve shifted uncomfortably underneath her gaze and she mentally gave herself a high five. So, intimidating it was. Good.

“A week, maybe more.”

Maria frowned further, forcing Steve to barrel on quickly. “I know this is a huge imposition for you and not exactly the best impression I want to make considering that I am just getting my footing here, but I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t feel this was necessary to well…. Everything.”

Taking pity on him, Maria smoothed her features into something that she hoped resembled understanding. She was out of practice; how could she not be in she was in a business that was fueled by testosterone and emotion meant weakness?

“Would a couple days suffice?”

“Unfortunately, no. My husband – ex husband – is a storm chaser and if he is tracking the storms I’m thinking, he’s probably already in Kansas. And if I’m wrong, there is some heavy activity headed towards Oklahoma.”

Maria nodded, barely resisting to hold back the sigh that threatened to escape. “Can you not call him to track down his precise location?”

“Would if I could,” Steve muttered. “Listen, I don’t want to bore you with the details, but Bucky is as bullheaded as I am, so he won’t be answering my phone calls anytime soon. I need to finish this, Ms. Hill, and the sooner I can do that the better. All I am asking for is a week, tops. I’ll make it work.”

Think, Maria. Think.

There had to be a way that she could spin this, make it favourable for everyone involved. She needed something to placate her viewers with. Something like –  _ oh!  _ Oh!

“Your husband is a storm chaser?”

“Ex husband,” Steve corrected.

“Fine, ex-husband. Now answer the question, Steve.”

“Yes, he’s a storm chaser. Why?”

Maria leaned forward, unable to help the grin that had begun to spread across her face. “Well, Steve, I think I may have found a solution for all of us.”

***

Steve didn’t like it – the idea of putting his personal business out there like that, it didn’t sit right. He also didn’t see what other choice he had. Maria was a businesswoman and a smart one at that, he couldn’t fault her for spinning this whole thing to work in her favour as well as the network’s. He needed this time off, knew that if he didn’t confront this thing with Bucky head on, then he would only continue to put it off.

So, he had agreed to everything; to the unrestricted camera access, to the interview questions she would compile, to putting his entire fucking life out there for everyone to see. And maybe it brought him some satisfaction to know that Bucky would hate it as much as he did, if not more. Bucky had always been very adamant that he –  _ they  _ – didn’t need the publicity, that they got by just fine doing what they did on their own.

_ I don’t do this for the fame, Steve. I do this because it’s exciting and I’m passionate about it. If all you care about is the money, then maybe this isn’t going to work _ . It had been an old argument between them, Steve always conscious of their expenses while Bucky had been content to ride out the storm until the end – always having faith that they’d figure it out. They always did, but it had done very little to soothe his worries.

They had gained some traction over the years, put their names out there, and had received several grants for their field research. The money had allowed them to do what they loved more comfortably, allowed them to buy all the proper equipment they would need to push their research further; the thirst to know more was like adding fuel to an inferno. Riding on the excitement and the possibility of finally being able to fit all the puzzle pieces together, they lost themselves in the race. They lost sight of who they were, not just individually, but as a couple and neither of them realized it until it had been too late; when all they had between them was years worth of research and very little else.

So right on the cusp of something  _ huge _ , Steve called it quits. He had packed a bag, told Bucky that he couldn’t live like this anymore and walked away.

Steve had lost two of his greatest loves that day – Bucky and chasing storms. Sure, he could have done it on his own, found a new hypothesis, lord knew he had a couple, but the idea of doing it without Bucky… well, it hadn’t been an option.

Storm chasing had been something they did together. It had seemed only fitting that he left it all behind.

Throwing stuff into a duffle bag at random, Steve stopped to wipe at his eyes furiously. Told himself it was the reality of the situation that had drudged up the grief he’d thought he’d shed months ago.

He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake by going to Bucky, wondering if he should maybe give Bucky a heads up about this whole thing.

Chewing on his bottom lip, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number he didn’t think he would ever forget, and held his breath as it rang once, twice before being sent over to voicemail.

“Dammit, Bucky.” He tossed his phone onto the bed and dropped his head into his hands, the realization that this whole thing could go so, so wrong cemented by the fact that Bucky was continuing to avoid him.

He let his mind switch gears, let it drift to Peggy and all the possibilities that lay just out of reach. He had a real shot at being happy here, in this life and he was damned if he would let Bucky take that from him too.

Squaring his shoulders, Steve finished packing.

***

Outside, Steve found the familiar face of Peter Parker leaned up against his truck, face buried in his phone and bagged equipment at his feet. He gave himself a minute to wonder why Maria would send out a kid who was still green around the gills before he switched his scowl for a smile as he approached the truck.

“Hey, Peter,” he said, already dumping his bags into the back of the truck before Peter even noticed his arrival. “Maria sent you?”

“Yeah.” Peter shoved his phone into his pocket and grabbed his bags, deposited them at his feet as he climbed into the truck behind Steve. “Said I should probably hurry too, just in case you changed your mind.”

“Smart woman.” He glanced down at Peter’s feet with a frown. “You sure you’re going to be comfortable with all that stuff crowding you?”

“It’ll be fine. I may need to switch out a piece here and there, depending on angle and voice quality.” Peter leaned forward to rummage through one of his bags.

Steve watched him with a furrowed brow before looking away and steering the truck out into traffic. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, feeling more than a little uneasy about this whole thing. It was one thing to be behind the camera when he was reading the weather reports, but this was personal.

“What did Maria tell you about this gig?”

“Not a lot,” Peter said. “Just that I was to take footage of everything and that I should listen to you if things got hairy. She made me sign a waiver and everything. Oh and -” he dropped the camera in his lap to fish a piece of paper out of his bag. “She sent me with some questions to ask on the drive. I probably should have looked them over first, but she gave them to me this morning and told me to hurry here….” he trailed off with a shrug. “Should I have read them first?”

“No, It’s fine. So, a waiver huh?” Steve waved off Peter’s question.

“A precaution, I was told, in light of the fact that we would be chasing storms and may come in close contact with a tornado and/or other unfavourable weather.”

Steve hummed, considering. “Have you ever seen a tornado, kid?”

Peter shook his head. “What’s it like?”

“Why don’t you fire that thing up and we’ll get started huh?”

Peter was better at his than Steve had given him credit for, which he found impressive. He put Steve at ease with his easy banter and quick wit, and the way he’d deviate from the questions on the page to ask some of his own. They were intelligent, in the moment questions that almost made him forget why they were doing this. It helped Steve understand why Maria sent him and not someone else.

“Why tornadoes?”

“I mean, why not?”

Peter chuckled softly. “You could be out there chasing hurricanes, electrical storms – whatever. So, why tornadoes?”

“Bucky, I guess. He could rant about them for hours, talk about how he wanted to solve them. Be the first person to be able to explain fully how they worked. And for a while I believed that he would be – still do.” He paused, a wistful smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“His drive to know more had been infectious. His excitement had been infectious. So much so that it had been impossible to ignore the pull. I guess you could say he’s part of the reason why.”

Peter waited a beat before finally asking, “Who’s Bucky?”

“Oh.” Steve felt the tips of his ears turn pink and realized for the first time that Peter’s questions had skillfully skated over the topic of Bucky – a tactic that he recognized as fully Maria’s.

“Bucky’s my hu- err, ex-husband.”

“Is he part of the reason why we’re headed to Kansas?”

“You could say that.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Steve spared a glance at Peter with an arched brow, thoughtful. “Is that a question on your paper?”

Peter shook his head.

Steve let the silence between the stretch as he thought about it. Did he want to talk about Bucky? The obvious answer was no, he didn’t. But Peter seemed to genuinely care, and not just because he was being paid to do so. Then again… the possibility of this conversation being replayed for thousands to see, that made him hesitate a little.

“I mean,” he said after a beat, “what’s there to say? We were in love for awhile and then we weren’t.”

“Sounds a lot more complicated than that.”

Steve huffed out a laugh before he reached over and turned up the radio, effectively calling a timeout. “You have no fucking idea, kid.”

***

When Peter’s questions had tapered off, and his requests for a handful of quick stops to get shots of Steve looking out his surroundings ceased, Steve decided to call it a night. They could afford the loss of time and his quickly stiffening body could use the rest. He was out of practice, his body no longer used to the long hours of driving.

Pulling into the first motel he saw, he keyed off the ignition and jumped out; bones popping in protest as he breathed in the fresh air.

“Are we stopping for the night?” Peter asked, eyes still blurry with sleep as he joined Steve.

“Looks like,” he said. “You okay with one room or would you rather have your own?”

“One room is fine.” Reaching back into the truck, Peter pulled out his camera and quickly set it up. “Um, I’ll just get some shots around the motel if you wanted to get us a room?”

“Okay,” Steve nodded and moved to head towards the motel office.

“Oh, wait!”

Turning, Steve watched as Peter fished something out of his wallet before handing it to him.

“Maria said to use this for our expenses – within reason, of course.”

“Why didn’t she give this to me before I left?”

“I think she had some red tape to go through to get it approved, figured I would see you before she did.” Peter shrugged. “There may have been a couple other things she said, but I gotta admit I forgot most of them in, uh, my excitement.”

Steve huffed out an amused laugh as he turned around, suddenly more than ready for a shower and a solid night of sleep.

It didn’t take long to check-in and head up to the room, bags tossed on their respective beds.

“You can shower first, if you want,” Steve said, lowering himself down onto the bed and pulling out his laptop. “I have some things I need to check.”

“Storm still on track?”

“That’s what I’m going to double check.”

“Cool.” Pulling some clothes out of his bag, Peter disappeared into the bathroom.

Steve went through the motions of checking various sites, looking at the numbers and predictions, brows furrowing slightly when the storm began to show signs of gaining momentum. If it continued like this, chances were they’d probably meet the tail end of this thing. Which wasn’t exactly a disaster, but it did complicate things a little. Bucky’s location being the biggest of them.

Pulling out his phone, he dialed Bucky’s number one more time and waited with bated breath as it rang a couple times before it clicked over to voicemail. Again. Steve considered leaving a message, let him know that he’d be crossing the state line into Kansas tomorrow. Instead, he ended the call.

He hadn’t expected Bucky to pick up, but Steve had hoped he would.

Giving himself only a second to consider it, he called Peggy, suddenly overcome with the need to hear her voice. She answered on the second ring.

“Steve,” she said, sounding a little breathless. Behind her he could hear the muffled sound of traffic, a curse and he frowned. “How’s the drive?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask where she was – if she was with anyone, but he quickly swallowed it down. It wasn’t his place to ask. 

“It’s going good. We stopped for the night, but we’re making good time.” He ran a hand down his face, feeling a little out of sorts. Now that he was here, it was harder to ignore the fact that he was really doing this.

“Peggy….”

“Yes, darling?”

“Nothing,” he said after a beat, not quite sure what he wanted to say in the first place. “Just needed to hear your voice, I guess.”

On the other end, Peggy sighed softly, and he could hear her move away from the sounds of traffic into some place quieter. “You’re doing the right thing here, Steve.” 

“Am I?”

“Yes.” She said it firmly, sounding so sure that it made him smile. “You deserve to be happy, Steve. You deserve to have closure.”

What about Bucky? What did Bucky deserve? Steve wanted to ask, hell the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he held them back knowing it wouldn’t be fair of him to say. It wasn’t like he’d been completely open about his split with Bucky, only that it had been painful and heartbreaking.

He didn’t tell Peggy about the mistake he’d almost made or how it had been the thing to open his eyes to the fact that his relationship with Bucky had been over long before they’d even realized it. Or how he’d packed a bag, fully intending to leave without saying goodbye until Bucky had stormed into their trailer, eyes blazing with a mixture of anger and devastation.

There were a lot of things that Bucky deserved, and it wasn’t him.

Thinking about it now, he wondered if he even deserved Peggy.

“Are you still there, darling?”

“Yeah. I’m still here.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, Peggy. Uh, listen… I should get some sleep. Early start tomorrow.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Steve.”

“‘Night, Peggy.”

Dropping his phone down on the nightstand, Steve focused his attention on the storm ahead of them and began mapping out the quickest route to get to it.

And to Bucky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a friendly reminder that what I know about storm chasing and tornadoes has come from google. Anything else that fails to make sense, forgive me because I'm just making shit up along as we go. 
> 
> See end notes for a possible trigger warning. 
> 
> No new warning tags applied yet. I'll update them as I go and promise to let you know. 
> 
> Also a huge thank you to 'The Cerise Sabotage' and 'Nightfalcon's Reverse Eyeshadow' on discord for their betas! Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Bucky Barnes stood with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, his eyes trained on the rapidly changing sky, taking note of the changing colors, the rumble of thunder and the shift in wind. So far, it looked promising. Now all they had to do was outsmart the storm that was brewing and get it front of its path before it fizzled out and disappeared.

Which, he mused, was turning out to be a bit more of a challenge than had been anticipated.

Removing his hands from his pockets, he plucked the cigarette out from behind his ear and placed it between his lips. God, he needed the excitement. The adrenaline that came from a good storm chase. Anything would be better than the name that continued to light up his phone, reminding him of everything he could have had but didn’t.

He inhaled deeply, let his eyes flutter shut against the heady tang of tobacco on his tongue and could almost hear Steve’s huff of frustration over the habit. Bucky had always said he’d quit down the line, but so far he hasn’t gotten around to making good on that.

As for Steve, well, he hadn’t intended to keep ignoring his calls. He kept telling himself he’d answer the next one and then the one after that; and yet each time Steve called, Bucky’s resolve faltered. He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t answer the phone, couldn’t hear Steve’s voice and couldn’t hear him ask why Bucky hadn’t gotten around to signing the divorce papers.

He didn’t want to have to tell Steve that they’re still sitting in the glove box of his truck, that even though he’d had a damn pen in his hand, he hadn’t been able to put it to paper. It didn’t feel right.

Steve leaving didn’t feel right. The divorce didn’t feel right. And how could it when Bucky has been denying himself any kind of closure because deep down, it felt like a failure.

Looking away from the sky, Bucky pushed his thoughts of Steve aside and forced himself to focus on the work at hand. After all, they did have a tornado to chase and it wasn’t going to wait for Bucky to work out whatever the fuck was going through his head.

“How’s it looking?” Bucky asked, as he paused beside an old, half restored campervan that looked as though it shouldn’t be running at all and yet, somehow still was.

Clint Barton looked up from the monitor, a grin on his face. “Magnificent.”

“How far out?”

“Hard to say, boss. But she’s picking up momentum, so she’s likely to be a real thing of beauty.”

Bucky nodded as he clapped Clint on the shoulder. “Let’s start to pack up, make sure that we’re ready to go the moment she starts to show activity.”

“You got it.”

Bucky watched as Clint bounced from station to station, relaying the message to the other members of their team, before he headed towards his truck to gather up the binders and notebooks he’d left scattered along the hood of his truck, and tossed them onto the backseat. He’d worry about storing them properly later, for now he wanted to keep his eyes on that storm.

“I got a good feeling about this one, Buck-a-roo.”

Bucky rolled his eyes as he closed the door and leaned against it, watching as Tony sauntered by with an exaggerated sway to his hips that spoke volumes about just what kind of personality he had. “How many times have I asked you to stop calling me that?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care.”

“Just make sure you’re ready to go when she stirs,” he said with a shake of his head, bemused.

Waggling his eyebrows, Tony gave him a mock salute as he began to gather his gear.

Tony Stark was one of the newer members to the team, and while Bucky had been reluctant in adding another person, Tony hadn’t left him with much of a choice. He was eccentric, insistent and truth be told, they never would have been able to bring the idea of what they were now calling _Iron Man_ to fruition.

To put it simply, Bucky was grateful for Tony because without him, he knew they wouldn’t have been able to come as far as they had in their research without Tony’s help. It also didn’t help that Tony had pockets so deep it seemed downright criminal – a fact of which he had been assured it was most definitely not.

Lighting another cigarette, Bucky returned his attention to the sky.

“Soon,” he murmured, a surge of excitement running through him.

When he was younger, he could remember following the storms on the news, tracking tornado activity right along with the best meteorologists, fueled by his own run in with a tornado that left not only his family home in shambles, but his entire world as well. Yet despite all of that, he knew deep down in his gut that he was meant for this. So, he read everything he could get his hands on, soaked up any and all information that he could like a sponge and when it was time, he went off chasing storms.

He met Steve in between his doctoral degree and life on the road.

Falling in love had been the second biggest whirlwind of his life and while he could never bring himself to regret a moment of it, he often found himself wondering what it would be like to walk around without the constant ache in his chest - an everyday reminder of the fact that things between the two of them hadn’t panned out.

Bucky huffed out a breath, annoyed that he’d allowed his mind to wander this far off. Again.

Thinking of Steve, replaying everything that gone wrong and hating himself for not noticing it sooner, it kept him up at night. And dammit, shouldn’t he be over it by now? It wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it. Not that he hadn’t wanted to, he’d tried. He really did. But Steve had been so dead set on the fact that it wouldn’t work – couldn’t work; that they’d grown apart. Grown indifferent in their relationship; their marriage. So, what was the point in trying, right?

Bucky had thrown himself into his work after that. Buried himself in his research and fine tuning the idea that Steve had abandoned, telling Bucky he could do whatever he wanted with it. But in between all of that, the hurt was still there. The failure was still there.

In Steve’s absence, it grew harder to ignore the fact that they hadn’t laughed together in a long time, that their touch had turned hurried and passionless, if they even bothered to touch at all, and that they’d been living more as roommates than lovers. It had him questioning what he could have done differently.

Needless to say, Steve leaving had left him devastated and if it hadn’t been for his work – his team, Tony – he’d probably be in a ditch somewhere, run down by a tornado he’d been foolish enough to believe he could get in the middle of and live to tell the tale.

No one said that he had any self-preservation. Maybe that was why he’d gotten on with Steve so easily. They were both bull-headed and never knew when to back down from any kind of fight.

He snorted, unable to stop the wave of bitterness crashed over him. Apparently there was one fight they just couldn’t be bothered with.

Straightening, he moved towards the back of the truck, his eyes roaming over the red and gold tank that was strapped to the back. _Iron Man_ was a thing of beauty with its sleek design and state of the art technology. But better yet were the millions of little sensors located within it; everything else was strictly cosmetic in his opinion.

He only wished that Steve could be here to see it – live and in person; because if _Iron Man_ was successful, it would be because of him.

All Bucky and Tony did was build it.

The sound of gravel crunching underneath tires had Bucky looking over his shoulder, frowning as an unfamiliar truck pulled up behind him.

“What the….” He muttered, falling silent when the driver door opened, and Steve stepped out. And shit, he knew he was just thinking about how Steve should be here, but he meant it in a nostalgic sort of way; if things had been different, wishful sort of way. Bucky was in no way prepared to have him standing here. In front of him. Looking good enough to eat.

Bucky looked away, body tensing as he tried to get a grip on himself as longing pulled deep in his belly. God, he hated it. Hated that even after their time apart and everything that they’ve been through since, that Steve could show up out of the blue and still affect him this way.

Taking a deep breath, Bucky squared his shoulders, held his head higher and when it felt like he’d regained some control over his body, he turned back towards Steve. He barely registered the passenger in Steve’s truck as they climbed out or the way they looked back and forth between Steve and Bucky. How could he, when the fact that Steve was here seeped further and further into his bones.

Despite the year apart, Steve still looked the same. Sure, he wore his hair a little longer and finally grew that beard he always said he would, but the eyes were the same. The smile, even if it was unsure, was still the same. And fuck him sideways, the bastard still wore his shirts a size too damn small. 

Bucky’s not sure why he expected any of that to change. Divorce could do funny things to your head; make you wish things you hadn’t even been aware you were wishing until you were faced with the reality of it.

In this case, he supposed he wished that Steve had lost his appeal, such as he’d grown a second head and his dick shrunk two sizes.

“What are you doing here?”

“You haven’t been answering my calls, Buck.”

Shrugging, Bucky shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’ve been busy.”

“Are you going to tell me that you’ve been too busy to sign the divorce papers too?” Steve asked, brow raised. The frustration in the tone was low, but Bucky felt it, nevertheless.

“Didn’t realize there was a rush on those, pal.” Pushing off the truck, he pulled open the driver side door and rummaged through the glovebox. “Is this really what you came all the way out here for?”

“You kind of left me with no other choice.”

Bucky scoffed as he unfolded the papers onto the hood of his truck. “That’s real funny of you, Stevie, because I think the only person who didn’t have a damn choice here was me.”

“Bucky….”

“You gotta pen?”

“Yeah, in the truck. Hold on.”

Bucky watched as Steve moved away, listened with half an ear as he murmured something to the kid who’d come along with him and noticed for the first time that he held a camera in his hands – a camera that he held upright, clearly recording whatever it was Steve was saying to him.

Snatching the papers up, he shoved them into the back pocket of his jeans and stomped his way over to them.

“What the fuck, Steve?”

Steve looked up, a blush colouring the back of his neck. “Look…I can explain.”

“You come all this way for divorce papers, and you have the goddamn nerve to record it all? What the fuck’s wrong with you, pal?”

“It’s not what you think,” Steve said, holding his hands up, placating. “I tried calling you, Buck, I did. I wanted to give you a heads up about all of this.”

“What are you talking about? Give me a heads up about what?”

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Steve dropped his gaze. “You weren’t answering my calls, Bucky. You weren’t signing the papers. I didn’t know when or if I was ever going to hear from you again, and I couldn’t keep putting my life on hold.”

Bucky felt his mouth drop open, eyes widening. Whatever had had been expecting Steve to say, it hadn’t even come close to this. “What?”

Steve sighed, resigned now. “I can’t keep putting my life on hold because you’re too scared or too stubborn – maybe both – to realize that our marriage is over. As for the camera, well, it was the only way I could get the time off. Peter’s here to film everything from the weather to our conversations. Nothing’s off limits.”

Bucky let Steve’s words sink in, let himself suss out what he wasn’t saying, and it made his entire world shatter for a third time. He closed his eyes as he focused on breathing through the heartbreak.

When he opened them again, Steve was looking at him with concern.

“You met someone.” He didn’t phrase it as a question, there was no point. Steve had met someone and that was the only reason he was here.

“I…yes.”

Bucky wanted to hit something. He wanted to drop to his knees and scream. He wanted to know how Steve could do it; how he could move on as though everything that they’d shared between them had been so easy to discard.

Instead he asked, “Are you happy, pal?”

Steve’s brow furrowed at the question. “Am I happy that you’re hurting? No. Am I happy that we didn’t work out? No. But I am finally on my way to being happy with how my life is now and I know that the longer we draw this out, I won’t be. You won’t be either.”

Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Bucky…”

“What?”

Steve didn’t say anything as he moved around Bucky to peer into the back of his truck, eyes going wide with surprise; effectively putting this conversation on the backburner for the time being. “You did it.”

Allowing himself his first genuine smile, Bucky nodded. “I had a little help, but yeah.”

“Does it work?” Steve asked, not bothering to wait as he climbed into the bed of the truck to get a closer look.

“We’re hoping to find out,” Bucky said. “We’ve been close to getting it off the ground a couple times, but no dice yet.”

“I wasn’t aware that you got the funding for it.”

“We didn’t,” Bucky admitted. “Every grant we applied for had been backlogged or there was too much red tape to work through. So, I put out some feelers and got a hit.”

“That’s awesome, Bucky. Shit….” Grinning, Steve ran his hand over the sleek metal of the tank. “What’d you name it?”

“Iron Man.”

Steve’s nose wrinkled at that. “Why Iron Man?”

“It was Stark’s idea and since he was putting up the money to help, I figured it wasn’t worth the argument.”

“Tony Stark?” Steve asked finally looking away from Iron Man to Bucky. “The multi-billion-dollar CEO of Stark Industries Tony Stark?”

“Former CEO actually. I’ve handed the reins over to a very intelligent, very sexy, very talented woman by the name of Pepper Potts. Sorry to interrupt,” Tony said, who looked very not sorry at all as he came to stand beside Bucky, “but I was told to let you know that we have some very promising activity stirring. Oh,” he turned his attention to Steve, “and Natasha told me to let you know there’s a minivan about half a mile out. Would that be for you?”

“Why would it be for me?” Steve asked, confused.

“Oh, because it bears the name of your incredibly small, somewhat prestigious network. But what do I know?” Shrugging, Tony returned his attention to Bucky. “We can afford another 10 minutes before we head out. If you want.”

Bucky shook his head. “No, let’s do this now. Just how many cameras should I be expecting, Steve?”

“I was told there would only be one,” Steve muttered. “Peter?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Would this be one of those things you forgot?”

Peter lowered his camera, sheepish. “It’s very possible.”

Bucky huffed out a breath as he reached up to pull his hair into a messy bun. “Whatever,” he said. “We’ll deal with it later. Right now, we have a tornado to chase. You guys following?”

“Peter, you know how to drive stick, right?” Steve didn’t wait for a reply before he tossed him the keys. “Follow behind us, but not too close. If things get hairy, you hang back alright?”

And with that, he climbed in beside Bucky.

“Fuck you smiling about, Rogers?”

“It’s just…it’s been a long time.”

“I take it being a weatherman doesn’t generate a lot of excitement in your life.” 

Steve rolled his eyes as he fiddled with the radio as he made sure they were connected to the right channel. “Shut up and drive, Buck.”

“You got it, pal.” Pressing down on the gas, Bucky steered his truck off the gravel backroad and onto pavement; behind him, the rest of the team followed.

Ahead, the clouds darkened, and the air grew heavy. Bucky felt adrenaline spike, felt the tingle in his toes and when the beginnings of a funnel cloud formed, he wanted to holler. He waited with bated breath, counting down the seconds it would take for it to touch ground.

“Buck,” Steve said, breaking the moment as he leaned forward to get a better look out the windshield. “She’s not going to last. She’s already losing steam.”

“What?” Bucky asked, doing the same. “How can you tell?”

Steve grabbed the radio. “It’s teasing you, haven’t you noticed? The way it keeps fluctuating like that…” and the into the radio, “How’s she looking, Clint?”

“She’s fizzling out,” Clint replied, voice cracking over the radio. “Seems to me she’s just taking a break to regain her strength.”

“That was my thought too. Thanks, Clint.” Setting the radio back down, Steve rubbed at his chin, his eyes firmly on the sky. “We should stop at the next gas station, fuel up. Get some coffee. Looks like we’re going to have some more waiting to do.”

“How the fuck do you know?”

Steve sighed as he sat back, stretched his legs out in front of him. “There was a time where you used to just trust me.”

Bucky said nothing to that. Instead, he kept his eyes on the long stretch of road in front of them and the funnel cloud that toyed with his heartstrings; lengthening but never quite committing. All he wanted was one good chase, one that would put Iron Man in the air and Steve back in New York. And yet… daring a glance in his direction, Bucky couldn’t ignore the fact that it felt right having Steve here.

The only thing that helped put that feeling into a little bit of perspective was the divorce papers stuffed into his back pocket and the fact that Steve had come all this way, with cameras in toe, just to get them.

“What’s she like?”

“What makes you think they’re a she?”

“Seemed like a safe assumption based on the fact that you nearly went home with one last year,” Bucky shrugged with a grimace: silently berating himself for bringing it up.

“I didn’t nearly go home with her, Bucky, and you know that.”

“So, you’re telling me that it never crossed your mind? I call bullshit.”

“Why do you think you know everything?” Shifting so that Steve was facing Bucky head on, he leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You gonna tell me I’m wrong?”

“You are.”

Bucky huffed out a laugh, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. “I don’t believe you. I think you sat in that diner and you let yourself wonder what it would feel like to give in. Why else would you have stayed for so long, knowing I was back at the motel waiting for you?”

“Is that what you think I did?”

“It’s what I know, Stevie. I went looking for you, you know. Got worried that maybe something had happened. You weren’t answering my texts by that point. So, I borrowed Clint’s van, headed down to the diner and I saw you with her.” He laughed, low and self-deprecating. “And I saw the way you were looking at her, pal...it was the same way you used to look at me.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“What was the point? By the time I’d cooled off enough to talk to you, you were packing a bag and telling me that it was over.”

Steve looked away from Bucky and out the window. “I did think about it. Things between us had changed and I had no idea how to get what we used to have back. So, yeah, I did think about it. But I would have never went through with it.”

“We should have had this conversation then,” Bucky muttered. “Maybe things would have been different.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Steve agreed. “But we didn’t.”

They drifted into silence after that, the low hum of the radio the only sound in the truck. Outside, the sky cleared, and the sun beamed down. Disappointed, he grabbed the radio. “Hey guys, there’s a gas station about a couple miles ahead of us. Might as well stop, get something to eat.”

Tony’s voice came through the radio, making Bucky roll his eyes. “You mean you’re actually allowing us a food break? I’m shocked.”

Not bothering to respond, he set the radio back on the dash with a chuckle.

“You gonna tell me how you ended up on the road with Tony Stark?” Steve asked.

“It’s a long story, pal.”

“Looks like we got the time.”

“I suppose we do,” Bucky agreed. “Well…”

***

Peggy knew that this was a terrible idea. But she also knew that declining the offer would not have looked good on her or the reputation she had fought tooth and nail to build. So instead of saying no, as she should have, she said yes and a couple hours later found herself packing a bag and on the road with two cameramen hand selected by Maria Hill.

Steve would be upset; of that she was certain. However, she could handle that. Could even persuade him into seeing it from her perspective. It wouldn’t take much to make him understand, after all, Steve was a reasonable guy. A generous one too. In fact, Steve was everything she had been looking for in a partner: handsome, smart and more than willing to follow direction when direction needed to be given. It also didn’t hurt that they looked fantastic together – a real power couple of the ages.

It would be interesting to see how they fared once the divorce papers were signed, and the dust had settled.

While she prided herself in being a strong, independent woman, she wasn’t opposed to having a ring on her finger. Truth be told, the thought sent a thrill of excitement through her as she realized she was more than ready to build a life with Steve. It didn’t matter that they’d only known each other for a short while or that she couldn’t classify them as a real couple as of it. She was confident in the fact that they’d both arrive at the same destination.

For the time being, however, they would simply have to make the best of a complicated situation.

“Ms. Carter?”

“Mmm?”

“I think they’re leaving.”

Looking up from her phone, Peggy’s brows furrowed as she watched vehicle after vehicle pull out from the field and onto the road. Steve’s truck was among them. “Follow behind them,” she instructed. “There must be some storm activity ahead. Lang?”

“Yes, Ms. Carter?”

“You can turn that camera on now. Maria wants all the footage that we can get our hands on.”

Refocusing her attention to the convoy in front of them, Peggy braced herself for whatever was about to come their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Steve and Bucky have a discussion about 'cheating', in which Bucky confronts Steve about the woman in the diner. Steve did not follow through with the act, though he does admit to having thought about it. All they do is talk about it, very briefly and I do not go into details. But if that is a hard no for you, you'll only have to skip a couple paragraphs before the topic changes. 
> 
> Also! Come hangout with me on Tumblr and Twitter under the same handle @whitegoofgeralt. You'll find a+ quality content (in my opinion) and updates about this fic (specifically when I'm going to be posting). So far, still aiming to update on a weekly basis (so Thursday's, hopefully). 
> 
> But seriously. Come hang out with me because I like talking to y'all!


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